Follow these par 3 tactics guidelines if you find yourself missinga lot of par-3 greens, and your rounds often feature one or two distaster holes.

Any serious golfer will have a good idea of how far each club in the bag goes. The problem is, and this often happens on par 3s, you see the yardage for the shot and that automatically determines your strategy.

This can lead to you falling into the trap set by the course designer. Take this hole for example. It measures 136 yards to the pin, however, there’s a deep bunker short of the flag, followed by a narrow stretch of green and then a slope that leads into a stream.

Taking this flag on is a risk that you probably don’t need to take unless you’re feeling extremely confident.

In this instance, I would club up, aim for the middle of the green and be happy with a 25-footer back down the slope.

One final point – don’t tee the ball up too high. I see a lot of amateurs do this when they hit an iron, but it will only cause you to strike the ball too high on the face and lose distance.

Top tips

Ensure you have a good idea of how far each club carries in your bag.

The problem is, you see the yardage for the shot and that automatically determines your strategy.

This can cause you to fall into the trap set for you by the cours designer, such as well placed hazards.

Sometimes you have to accept that clubbing up, aiming for the middle of the green and being content with a 25-footer for birdie is the sensible option.

Remember not to tee the ball up too high. This often results in cotnact being made too high on the face of the club, resulting in a substantial loss of distance.